Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Rupee Coins Contain Gold or Uranium


http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-112808-Gold-rush-in-Makran

The News International [Pakistan]
6 June 2012


 By Naimat Haider

KARACHI/TURBAT: Thousands of old one-rupee coins were sold for millions of rupees in the Makran region on Tuesday in what became a ‘gold rush’ in the area. Throughout the day, people spent their time looking for the humble golden-coloured coin which was being sold for as much as Rs1,000 in some cases -- though no one quite knew why. It was rumoured later in the day that it was being smuggled to Iran which was buying it because “it contained uranium”. Regardless of whether or not there was any truth in the story, the frenzy persisted all day.

“I had heard another rumour in the morning that jewellers are buying it because it’s full of gold,” said Murad Baloch, a beggar in Turbat. [...]


http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-112855-Coin-jackpot-myth-hits-Karachi

The News International [Pakistan]
7 June 2012


Ammar Shahbazi

Karachi -- If you have a handful of old one-rupee copper coins stashed away in a dusty drawer or a piggy-bank, congratulations! You could soon become a millionaire. That is, if you believe some of the wild rumours circulating in the city. [...]


http://tribune.com.pk/story/390859/wild-goose-chase-the-real-worth-of-one-rupee/

Express Tribune [Pakistan]
9 June 2012


By Fazal Khaliq

SWAT:  The one-rupee coin might be much more valuable than it seems, or at least that is what many in Swat have been led to believe. Rumours that the coins contain gold caused a stir in Swat Valley, with people clamouring to get their hands on it, some paying as much as Rs50 to Rs100 for a single coin. [...]


http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-113713-Golden-one-rupee-coin-is-worth-hundreds-in-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

The News International [Pakistan]
11 June 2012


Javed Aziz Khan

PESHAWAR: Can anyone believe that a one-rupee coin is being sold here in the provincial capital and many other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against Rs200 and more? [...]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/9326752/Pakistan-frenzy-over-gold-rupee-coins.html

The Telegraph [UK]
12 June 2012


By Rob Crilly, Islamabad

How much is a one rupee coin worth? Up to 2500 rupees if you believe the rumours sweeping Pakistan that the humble coin had inadvertently been made with gold instead of the usual tiny percentage of copper. [...]


http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/06/13/the-pakistani-1-rupee-coin-is-worth-more-than-1-rs/?ss=strategies-solutions

Forbes [US]
13 June 2012


Tim Worstall

This is an amusing story from Pakistan. A rumour has taken hold that the old 1 rupee coin is worth substantially more than the 1 rupee face value due to the metal content. Thus people are purchasing them at higher than face value and then trying to pass them along.

What amuses me about the story is that it is in fact true that the coins are worth higher than face value: but for very different reasons than those that are floating around. Indeed, I can see a plausible explanation for how the whole rumour started. [...]